Amazon Basin - Peru - page 997

Offline map Google map ( 23-6208; Napo 256) also operates flights to and from Lima via
Tarapoto or Pucallpa. Fares are about US$120 to Lima and slightly less to Pucallpa or
Tarapoto. Copa Airlines ( in Panama 1-800-359-2672; www.copaair.com ) now oper-
ates twice-weekly flights to Panama City (Wednesday and Saturday).
Charter companies at the airport have five-passenger planes to almost anywhere in the
Amazon, if you have US$500 going spare.
Boat
Iquitos is Peru's largest, best-organized river port. You can theoretically travel all the way
from Iquitos to the Atlantic Ocean, but most boats out of Iquitos today ply only Peruvian
waters, and voyagers necessarily change boats at the Colombian-Brazilian border ( Click
here ) . If you choose to arrive by river, you'll end up at one of three ports, which are
between 2km and 3km north of the city center.
Three main ports are of interest to travelers.
Puerto Masusa (Av La Marina), about 3km north of the town center, is where cargo
boats to Yurimaguas (upriver; three to six days) and Pucallpa (upriver; four to seven days)
leave from. Fares cost S100 for hammock space and up to S180 for a tiny (often cell-like)
cabin. Boats leave most days for both ports: there are more frequent departures for the
closer intermediate ports. The Eduardo boats to Yurimaguas are quite comfortable, al-
though there have been reports from readers of them mistreating transported animals.
Downriver boats to the Peruvian border with Brazil and Colombia leave from Puerto
Masusa too. There are about two or three departures weekly for the two-day journey (per
person S50 to S80). Boats will stop at Pevas (hammock space S20, about 15 hours) and
other ports en route. Boats may dock closer to the center if the water is very high (from
May to July).
The Henry Boats ply the Iquitos-Pucallpa route and have their own more organized
port ( 965-67-8622; 7am-7pm) on Av La Marina, closer to the center.
At both ports chalkboards tell you which boats are leaving when, for where, and wheth-
er they are accepting passengers. Although there are agencies in town, it's usually best to
go to the dock and look around; don't trust anyone except the captain for an estimate of
departure time. Be wary: the chalkboards have a habit of changing dates overnight! Boats
often leave hours or even days late.
You can often sleep aboard the boat while waiting for departure, and this enables you to
get the best hammock space. Never leave gear unattended − ask to have your bags locked
up when you sleep.